A valiant, if familiar addition to the “Lord Of The Rings” cinematic canon, the latest Tolkien-inspired film from the LOTR braintrust—Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh—an anime called ‘The War of the Rohirrim’ is in many cut from the same cloth as the original Jackson-directed trilogy. And while conventional, and perhaps a deep cut for die-hard ‘LOTR’ fans only—or fans of anime—the film, made very much in the spirit of the Jackson/Boyens/Walsh movies, has its heart in the right place.
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And if anyone was expecting something watered down for kids or softened around the edges, you’ve come to the wrong place. Directed by Kenji Kamiyama (“Star Wars: Visions,” “Blade Runner: Black Lotus”) and written by Jeffrey Addiss, Will Matthews, Phoebe Gittins, and Arty Papageorgiou, ‘The War of the Rohirrim’ feels very adult and borderline R-rated. Heroes and villains are slain with killer anime-style precision, and beasts take a beating, too.
Based on stories within J.R.R. Tolkien’s appendices and set nearly two centuries before the events of the live-action movie trilogy, as the title suggests, the film centers on the fierce, proud and independent people of Rohan (featured prominently in “The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers”).
And specifically, ‘War Of The Rohirrim’ tells a tragic coming-of-age, or coming-of-warrior tale about Hera (Gaia Wise), daughter of Helm Hammerhand (Brian Cox), the king of Rohan. The gruff Cox is so perfect in the role—a Herculean gray-bearded and fierce king— you wish he would have been cast in these films decades ago when he was younger (though they wouldn’t even have existed yet).
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Helm is father to his capable chip-off-the-old-block first-born son, Haleth Prince of Rohan (Benjamin Wainwright), and the second boy, Hama (Yazdan Qafouri), much more sensitively attuned and musically predisposed. But Helm doesn’t really pay enough attention to Hera, who proves herself to possess a brave mettle that shouldn’t be underestimated.
‘War Of The Rohirrim’ is triggered by pride, insolence and arrogance from everyone involved. An annual Rohirrim celebration is interrupted by Freca (Shaun Dooley), a Rohirrim lord of Dunlending heritage and leader of the adversarial Dundelings, a race of Men living on the plains of Dunland and bitter rivals of the Rohirrim people. Haughtily, Freca proposes a kind of truce to strengthen both houses by having  Wulf (Luke Pasqualino), his son, marry Hera—who also happens to be Wulf’s childhood friend.
But Freca is self-important, and Helm is quick to anger. A fistfight between the two breaks out, and he accidentally kills Freca with one punch. In the fallout, an embittered Wulf vows to take vengeance on the House of Helm Hammerhand and proceeds to do so for nearly two hours with vicious vindictiveness. What ensues is a tragic and relentless assault from Wulf and his clan, claiming many of Helm’s beloved Rohhirm and family in the process. Amid this chaos and bloodletting, Hera must step up and raise the flag for her kin. With a story by credit for Addiss, Matthews and Philippa Boyens, this central inner circle of writers isn’t afraid to go dark and brutal in all that transpires (while rated PG-13, it’s a grim tale for the higher end of that age spectrum).
Narrated by Miranda Otto as Éowyn, one of the future Rohirrim featured in Jackson’s final two ‘LOTR’ films, while Hera is a compassionate and strong-willed character, she’s in many ways overshadowed by the black bilious hatred of Wulf and the monumental grandeur of Helm—Pasqualino and Cox, outstanding in their voice roles.’
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Taking visual inspiration from Jackson’s films, Sola Entertainment provided the traditional 2D animation, and it’s as beautiful as it looks in the trailers: a sumptuous feast for the eyes.
But one can’t help but wonder who the audience might be as anime is generally for kids, and “Lord Of The Rings” is starting to skew heavier to older male audiences who might not have time for the form, thus distancing both crowds. And grave and somber in tone, children aren’t likely going to flock to this film unless parents take them.
Story-wise, ‘War Of The Rohirrim’ fits nicely with ‘LOTR’ film canon, but it’s arguably playing things a little safe, too. Still, for anyone expecting Kids Bop’ LOTR,’ ‘War Of The Rohirrim’ is impressive in its will to not pull any punches. On a purely watchable level, it is handsome, made, and engaging, even if its aims may split the difference between its core audience. Still, that’s someone else’s problem to figure out. ‘Rohirrim’ is told with great fervent conviction, and no true ‘LOTR’ fan will complain about that. [B]
“The Lord of the Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim” opens in theaters December 13 via Warner Bros.